PANAJI
Three members of Goa’s expert committee on Covid management and 28 resident doctors posted on regular duty at Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, have tested positive for Covid-19.
The Directorate of Health Services on Wednesday recorded 3,119 new cases of Covid with the daily positivity rate hitting 31.84 per cent. Two more Covid related deaths were also reported in the last 24 hours.
Even as the active Covid caseload in the state has touched 14,134, medical practitioners, especially paediatricians, believe that the numbers being made public are deceptive as a large majority of children are not being tested for Covid despite having symptoms.
Explaining this trend across Goa, Dr Dhanesh Volvoikar, a reputed paediatrician from Porvorim, said, “As a paediatrician, I see so many children with fever, cough or cold or a combination of these. Some parents get their children tested and receive positive reports for Covid. Most children get a fever for a day or two with or without a cough, which may last for a few days. It has been noticed that children do not get serious symptoms.”
Similarly, the symptoms of Covid in its third wave are increasingly being confirmed as mild even among adults. Fully vaccinated persons with comorbidities are being asked to get themselves tested early if they experience any symptoms of Covid and to keep in touch with their personal physicians so that the disease can be managed more effectively and steps can be taken to prevent escalation and ICU admission.
As a result, authorities at GMC have made repeated requests to the public to refrain from flooding the hospital with mild symptoms as these cases can be handled on the periphery or on phone.
Presently, only 32 of the 85 Covid patients admitted at GMC are on oxygen, it was learnt. Of these 32, only two have been intubated and are on ventilator support.
Speaking about the current situation at GMC, President of Goa Association of Resident Doctors Dr Pratik Savant said that 28 resident doctors on regular duty have tested positive for Covid. “Around 48 residents are likely to be posted for Covid duty in varying shifts of eight hours for two days and 12 hours on the third. Throughout the pandemic, there has been no incentive or any fee waiver.”
